THE ARTS
331
and English books, and one quarter of them are for children. The reference department houses almost 10,000 volumes, together with the nuclei of map and picture collections. Again, about half the books are in Chinese. There are another 65,000 Chinese volumes, mostly traditional books from the Kotewall and Hok Hoi Collec- tions, not yet fully catalogued, but available on special request. The library also possesses the complete National Library of Peking on 8,000 rolls of microfilm.
The Colonial Secretariat library houses 9,553 volumes. These include many Government publications; books written especially about Hong Kong, including publications by local authors, refer- ence books on such subjects as public administration, sociology, economics and political science; and standard works on the history of the Commonwealth and of the countries of south-east Asia. Apart from being a departmental reference library, it is a useful source for research workers in matters concerning Hong Kong and is available to members of the public.
BRITISH COUNCIL
The British Council continued to make a valuable contribution to the cultural life of Hong Kong. Several exhibitions were mounted, one of which consisted of facsimiles of the Shakespeare First Folio and Quartos, giving the Colony a foretaste of the coming Quatercentenary celebrations. Other exhibitions included Recent British Prints, Coventry Cathedral and Kew Gardens.
A visit to Hong Kong in October by Sir Kenneth Clark, the former Director of the National Gallery, was made possible through the Council's good offices. Sir Kenneth's lecture on J. M. W. Turner was a prelude to the British Museum exhibition of Turner's watercolours in the art gallery of the City Hall. General assistance was given to touring British musicians, most notable of whom was the guitarist, Julian Bream.
In the reverse direction, a three-month visit to Britain was arranged for the assistant manager of the City Hall for him to study the administration of cultural centres in Britain and in a number of European cities. Of the nine scholarships awarded locally, one went to an art teacher to enable him to study sculpture at the Ravensbourne College of Art and Design. Through the